Sharing our daily adventures around or dinner table

Moo at the Zoo

Leading up to Monkey’s birthday we were asked what he needed or what we would like him to have. Our answer was always “books or experiences”, which was usually met with a look or comment of “really?”.

Because we are a family with two working parents and Monkey (according to Ms. J) is the best sleeper ever he doesn’t need a toy room full of toys. I’m not saying he doesn’t need any, trust me he has plenty, but he is only home and awake for about 3 hours a day and that includes the 90 minutes it takes for supper, bath and stories at the end of the night.

What Monkey (and Mama & Dada) need are things that create memories and can be used during the routine that works like magic. You don’t mess the the routine TRUST ME!

Michael and I are strong believers that you can never have too many books and our house right now is a testament to that.

Monkey’s ever growing book collection

So gifting your favourite books to add to our collection is a lot of fun for me, plus I am that super lame Aunty who always buys books or gift cards to Chapters/Indigo for all occasions, all the time; so I really appreciate books as gifts. But for those rare times that I don’t, I give experiences. Either for the little and I to do together or for the little and their family.

It can be really difficult after a long week at the office to will yourself to put on pants let alone pack up the family and head out to somewhere full of screaming littles that aren’t yours and the risk of yours following suit. But one thing I know for certain is that when someone gifts you an experience you find that extra bit of will power and manage to make it out the door and you are thankful for the memories the gift brought.

This year Monkey received a pretty awesome experience for his birthday from some family in New Brunswick, an Annual Family Zoo Pass to the Calgary Zoo. This gift hits two very important markers for us, it will give us a reason to do something fun and stimulating outside the house and most importantly we can drive during naps!

We decided that this past weekend would be a perfect time to go because it had been a sunny 27C the majority of the week and Nanny and Grammy are visiting from the Maritimes.

Yes that’s right Mama put his shoes on the wrong feet #mamafail #noonenoticeduntil3hourslater

As you can see from the look on Monkey’s face we had a great time. Even though he is just barely 1, there was so much for him to see, hear, smell (💩) and see. He was beyond fascinated with the animal sculptures around the zoo and I think he was a little perplexed as to how Sophie grew so big and managed to get to Calgary all on her own.

So brave with Dada’s help

Mama… how did Sophie get so big?

But Mama’s favourite as always are the penguins 🐧

This has been one of our most successful trips so far! Beautiful weather, no melt downs, and lots of learning. I am sure we will be taking advantage of this pass often over the next year.

What is your favourite day trip with your littles? Let me know in to comments below!

I totally agree about not having enough books in the house, and also about giving experiences! We became zoo members a few years ago and I love it! It gives us a great way to spend time outside and I love watching my daughter interact with the animals more and more!